Unsolved Equation
by Lipush
Summary: The truth behind Richard Castle's disappearance through the eyes of all involved. A childhood trauma he shares with his family and friends may be the first step of a long healing process *Tag/sequal to 'Equation With One Variable'
1. Chapter 1

**A/N****-****Hallo, friends! It's me again.**

**Sorry about the long wait, I had this meeting I was nervously dreading, and had to prepare myself; I couldn't possibly focus on anything else! But it went ok, thankfully, so now I'm back!**

**This is a tag to "Equation With One Variable", mostly oneshots and outtakes to the original story, detailing the untold stories of the children and those involved. It will make much more sense if you read "Equation With One Variable" first. **

**No worries, I will soon update and conclude it, but I felt like adding those small tags is needed.**

**Please read and review!**

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><p><span><strong>Unsolved Equation (AKA EWOV outtakes):<strong>

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><p>"Little child…<p>

Bitter tears

Little love

And great big fears…"

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><p><span><strong> JORDAN<strong>

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><p><em><strong> Bitter Tears:<strong>_

Her almond eyes are his first greeting once dawn breaks through the dusty blinds.

Richard Rodgers tenses in his own small bed, and the tiny girl settled on the end of the bed puts a small, delicate finger on her lips, her message clear.

_'Don't make a sound'._

Scratching his eyes, fighting against remaining sleep, he breathes deep, his gaze darting to the other side of the wooden room.

Nicholas' long, thin body rises and falls in his deep sleep, as it's just before dawn. Looking at the small beds on the other side of the room, Shira holds her teddy-bear in one hand, shivering slightly from the cold.

Caitlyn's fist is on the pillow next to her sleeping self. They'll all stir in a few moments, but next to him, little Jordan is wide awake.

"What are you doing here, Jordan?" Richard squints, whispering curiously.

Twitching her lip, the girl gestures with one finger and thumb towards her eye, her hand then points at the window.

'_Look_…' her silent lips mumble, _'It's going to be a sunny day'_.

Sunny day means delivery day. Beggars' day.

It means sitting for hours in the truck, hungry, watching as endless woods pass him, swallow him, while his heart and soul yearn for his mother.

He says nothing, examines his little partner.

Abruptly, her lip stretches into a tiny smile.

From her left pocket, she pulls out a small fragment. It's made of wood, smells of fresh leaves. A tiny bird, carved from maple, her wings spread delightfully.

A Sparrow.

Passing both hands in a bow-like manner, she signs the deepest yearn of every child in this place.

_'Free_..' she says, her eyes glister when looking at the window.

'Yes', Castle thinks, 'Sparrows are free'.

And he wishes he could be a Sparrow. He feels shame that a creature with supposedly no human intelligence wins the liberty and honor he no longer has. He feels two inches tall. Human, children, God's most lovable creation, treated as slaves, tools, destined to be sold to whoever offers the highest price.

_'One day_…' Jordan tells him, always the optimistic, _'One day we will jump the puddles as free children, holding our mothers' hands'._

He wishes he could be as hopeful.

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><p>That day drags on, as the old truck takes them, all seven of them, to the faraway town.<p>

The door opens, and the twins are being snatched forcefully from the truck.

Analíah watches in silent as the small girls are taken, he chin raised in defiance.

Richard says nothing, and prefers to look the other way.

The sun disappears behind the clouds softly.

Rain is on its way.

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><p>Storm, if to be more accurate.<p>

It starts pouring around noon, huge drops, like knives, hit the cabin, and the truck has to turn back, to the safely hell that is the woods.

Bad day for deliveries.

Terrific day for beggars.

Nothing breaks the heart like tiny homeless kids asking for a coin.

And it sure does.

It's around 5 PM when they return. Soaking wet, but Jordan is beaming with joy.

Soon enough, Richard realizes why.

In her arms there is a doll. A small, trashed, smelly one. She's missing an eye, her legs a bit crooked, if you ask him, and her hair probably made of dirty shoelaces, her skirt torn.

It's really is nothing but a disgusting toy, but Jordan takes such joy in it, he doesn't say anything. Cradling her doll, the 7 year old believes its 'her baby', the coins she collected today were for her. She doesn't share the baby with Caitlyn.

The small prize, of course, due to the fact that she collected more coins than her sister, today .

As Caitlyn looks at Jordan with envy, prizes are always welcomed… she knows she needs to be very good. Cain knows to sometimes reward good behavior, and he has an outstanding memory… Fact that she never intended on escaping will soon reward her as well, she hopes… perhaps something even better than a doll.

As the small girl sits next to him, he gazes at the filthy thing held tightly in her grasp.

He doesn't like that doll.

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><p>The next day, it's still raining, and Cain gets restless.<p>

Food starts to be a problem, and never the good cook, he overheats the oatmeal.

Burned porridge awaits the children, and a growl of frustration is heard from Nicholas as he pushes his meal away, disgusted.

The smooth dish burns Jordan's tongue, as she pushes the plate away, tears in her eyes.

Richard hurries to wet the small napkin next to him, then pushes the paper material into Jordan's mouth, trying to sooth and calm the burning inferno in her mouth.

She cries silently, suffering, and he holds her, shushing.

Cain watches from afar, uncaring.

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><p>As days pass by, indoors, 3 of the children fall ill.<p>

On the 4th day it's clear that they must act, before they'll all collapse.

Jordan coughs, but thankfully doesn't show any other symptoms. Next to her, Richard holds her hand, soothing. It's all going to be alright.

But Jordan knows. She feels the change In the air.

They've had enough.

Holding the small bird, She smiles at Richard softly, and he kindly returns the smile. "Free…" he whispers, like in secret, "we're all going to be free…"

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><p>As their fingers injure themselves, sneaking out, forcing the callous fence down, Jordan runs, her tiny legs leaping forward.<p>

She can see Richard, running ahead, and she tries to keep up.

Holding 'The Baby', she suddenly hears Cain's enrage cry just behind, and she forces herself forward. Run run run…

She keeps up, Richard's figure becomes blurry, but not because of the blanket of darkness and fog surrounding them all.

It's the sharp pain that abruptly hits her from behind… and then…It's all over.

Falling, she hits the ground, as the thundering gunshot covers them all.

Her tiny heart freezing, ceasing its lively beats, Jordan collapses, cold and dead.

Richard Rodgers hears the shot, his tears of pain mixed with his injuries. He lets himself mourn her for a split second, before completing his flee.

But she haunts him. Her delicate face, her soft blush, her silent innocence and never-ending hope.

_Free..._

He's not sure if she ever left the woods, or did the forest swallow her whole. She never got to be free, but was never captured in the first place.

Like a Sparrow, her spirit was forever liberated; the woods could never block its will.

Her tiny bird held in his fist as he keeps running, Richard can almost hear her, whispering through the branches, "Remember me…" she asks softly, "Remember me, Richard Rodgers…" as tears flood his vision again, he promises he will, "My name was Jordan."


	2. Chapter 2

**Unsolved Equation:**

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><p>"The girl no longer sees a difference between a day and a month,<p>

She's scared to death without realizing why

The girl doesn't realize that God makes mistakes, too"

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><p><span><strong>SHIRA:<strong>

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><p><strong>Somewhere, far away:<strong>

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><p>One of those days, he wakes up to find her staring outside the narrow window, one hand holding her stuffed bear, the other holding her prayer book.<p>

He has no heart to tell her to forget her prayers… God doesn't pass the door into this place. Only the devil.

The devil shaped as a tall and scary man, Cain, and sometimes his brother, too.

It will soon be time to wake everyone up; Rick is an early riser, and so he learns, Shira, too.

Approaching her slowly, doesn't mean to startle her, Shira turns to face him, and like always, he's struck by her beauty. The deep green eyes, the silky mahogany hair, the puffy-full lips...

She's a true vision, and such beauty shouldn't be kept in here.

He sits on the bed, next to her, and she offers a tiny smile. "Couldn't sleep?" he asks the small girl.

She shakes her head 'No'.

"I have nightmares, too." He suggests hopefully.

Twisting her lip, Shira gestures towards her bear, "Dov," she says feebly, then adds, "Take, Rick."

That's another language-burden in the house. Apart from Jordan, who's completely mute, there's Shira. But she's not mute or mentally disabled, she's very intelligent and communicative, unfortunately, English isn't her comfort zone.

Being born to an ultra-orthodox Jewish family, her father raised her to speak mainly Yiddish and Hebrew. It wasn't natural for her to speak English, even though she understood perfectly each word said to her. She often chose to back away from English as a defense mechanism, she desperately needed to cling to something, anything, from home, and what was easier than language.

Often you'd find her mixing her mother tongue with English, which will frustrate Cain, who would think her stupid. But Cain could not understand any of them, really, so his opinion didn't matter.

Rick has difficulty understanding her at times, like many of them, but he doesn't pass judgment on her. If anyone is capable in understanding her, is Analíah.

Richard recalls night when Shira will wake sweating and crying, and Analíah will crawl to her bed, caress and hold her, sing to her some lullabies in Hebrew.

They told him Shira tried to teach Analíah some Hebrew, and that she catched the language pretty fast. Mostly, the children's songs, which Shira liked.

Offering her teddy to Rick now, he just smiles and shakes his head, "No," he thanks her, "keep him, I'll be ok."

Shira is kind, Rick thinks at times. She doesn't challenge, or mocks or laughs at him like Nicholas.

And when she sings, he feels goosebumps all over.

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><p>It's late when Cain's brother returns with the group of children, that evening. It's dark, and the children are tired.<p>

Richard notices Shira being held tightly in a cruel grasp, obviously did something Cain's brother is not happy about, and from behind the dinner table, unease fills Rick's insides.

Analíah gulps, tensing, and Cain asks what the hell happened, why is Shira, of all kids, looks like that. Filthy dress, stained face, messy hair.

"Little brat here," Shira shrieks at the cruel pull on her arm, "Messed up the delivery on purpose," Cain's brother seethes.

Cain's grin is of malice, "Is that so?" he says, his eyes narrowing. He gives Shira a disapproving glare, then orders her, "sit."

Shira's eyes widen in fear, but the look is soon masked under an expression of determination. She knows what it means to sit.

Standing next to the wall means Cain's strikes will come with a belt. Sitting next to the table, main the pain comes on one of the more sensitive spots.

"The stick, Analíah."

With a sigh, the girl obeys, leaving the room.

The children gather around, they know what it means. And they're not wrong. Taking Shira's left palm in his own hand, Cain smashes it on the table.

The stick is soon in his hand, too. What he usually does is smacking the tip of the stick into the nail-flash of the hand. It's extremely painful and humiliating, more than the belt.

Biting on her lip, Shira is determined not to look away, she'll be brave and take this. She will.

The first smack comes forward, and the burning in Shira's hand makes her want to scream.

Another comes, then another. The sound of rough material hitting small fingers is heard; the children look at each other with worry and sympathy.

Rick, standing next to analiah, takes her hand; she holds onto him tightly, her gaze trying to sooth.

Shira's eyes fill with tears, but Rick is amazed to hear the deafening silence, the courage in which she takes the punishment.

And then, as her mouth opens, it's a small plea. Not for mercy of Cain, but a completely different being.

"_Vehi She'amda…la'avoteinu_…" her voice trembles in a soft Hebrew song, her body sways back and forth with the melody, distracting them from Cain's abuse, "_Vehi she'amda… la'avoteinu velanu_…"

Cain pays no attention to her, probably thinks she's crazy, but none of them minds. Shira's voice is magical on the words, and even without meaning, they all see how deep is her emotion when she sings, her body in trance, "_shelo echad bilvad… amad aleinu lechaloteinu… amad alainu lechalotainu_…"

Analiah's eyebrows come together in a frown, and she whispers, "Amazing… out of all the songs, she chose this one…" and shaking her head, she says, "Never ceases to amaze me…"

"What is she singing?" Richard asks, curious. Whatever it is, it's deep, soothing, and captivating, as he notices how the girl's body swings with the words.

"It's a prayer song…" Analíah answers, blinking, "She sings about the enemies of her people… even though they try to harm them, God will always be with them…" Analíah explains, "I guess that's how Shira keeps herself together…" Analíah shrugs, "believing that God watches over her…"

"_VehaKadosh Baruch Hu Matzileinu! Matzileinu meyadam_!" Shira's singing becomes desperate, her eyes clench close as her skin reddens, yet she keeps singing, "_Matzileinu! Matzileinu_!" a lone, rebellions tear slides down, but that's all weakness you'll see from her.

The strikes cease at one point, and Shira's hand is free again.

Once she's excused, you could see her smiling.

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><p>That night, she's reminded of her mother.<p>

Shira is an only child, and before being kidnapped from the synagogue, she was very attacked to her mom. It was only few days ago that she realized that she'll have to eat what was offered to her, or else she'd starve.

But she protests every time.

Rick lies in bed, hear her small, silent cry. He's not sure what caused the rise of emotion, and he can't blame her, he misses his momma so much, as well. But Shira is so pure, any pain caused to her, even slightly, is sinful.

As always, Analíah crawls into her bed, hugs her. She starts to sing a soft Hebrew song, and that one her recognize. He can relate. Analíah taught him the meaning of the words, and hearing Analiah's lullaby is soothing, calming….

"_Somewhere, far away_…." Analíah sings, "_someone is thinking of you…_" caressing Shira's hair, Analiah touches her fingers in a motherly manner. A mother Shira lacks so much… "_Someone wants you so bad_…" she keeps singing, "_somewhere…far away_…"

Rick's glance is on the ceiling, and suddenly, he weeps, recalling his own loving mother. Where is she now? Is she still looking for him?

"Somewhere, far away…" Analíah's voice echoes, "_Someone is dreaming of you… someone loves you, so, so much… somewhere… far away…_"

Biting his lips, Rick keeps listening, "_so don't cry tonight… lay your head like a pillow… a falling star will light our night, to ask…where are you going?..."_

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><p>He escapes, most of them do.<p>

Most of them don't survive the woods, though. But Shira does.

Days, years, decades pass, but Richard Castle remembers Shira's soft soul, neverending faith, and pure heart.

The waves of sea swallowed her, they tell him, years later, and he knows, Shira is an angel now, just like Jordan, sitting next to God's royal chair. Because that's where angels belong.

Later on, he learns that the name Shira means 'Poetry', in Hebrew. Suiting a small child, who loved the melodies so much. She was a poet, a singer, a true mockingbird.

He tells no one this, but one day, he decides to go to the synagogue from which she was taken, so many years ago. He befriends the Rabbi, and the Rabbi gives him a playlist of soft melody songs.

One of the songs talks about a small girl, which the singer loved very much, she was his daughter. The song talk of childhood's innocence. The singer promises his daughter to give her his whole world, he promises to cherish her, give her his moon and stars, to try and keep her innocence forever.

He then remembers, sadly, the story of the small beautiful girl, who never got to grow up. He has to wipe away a small tear when he finds out the song's name was simply called _"A Song For Shira."_

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><p><strong>AN- So here's the second OS.**

**Just for clarification, the song Shira sang at the beginning is a true prayer song, called "Vehi She'amda," sung on Passover evening. Song Lyrics translation- "And The Torah is that kept our ancestors and us, and even though our enemies arose to attempt and terminate us, Holy God saves us from their grasp". Song referring to the enemies of Israel, but in it, Shira finds strength, as the enemy is Cain, and she trusts God to save her from him. That's also why the scene is so powerful.**

**"Somewhere far away", is a Hebrew song I like very much, about yearning, and missing someone you love, who is not with you.**

**"A song for Shira," is also a true song, about a baby-girl named Shira, daughter of a famous singer. In the song, he expresses his love for her.**


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